


Literary Criticism

by bluewerewolfprose, Nicolareed



Series: Drabbles In Darkness [11]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Friendship, Ignis is laughing at them, Luna loves trashy romance, Not Quite Home in Darkness, Other, Platonic Cuddling, Reading, So does Gladio, sleepy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 20:01:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11470662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluewerewolfprose/pseuds/bluewerewolfprose, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicolareed/pseuds/Nicolareed
Summary: In which Luna and Gladio critique their favourite author and Ignis laughs.





	Literary Criticism

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Not Quite Home In Darkness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9365735) by [Nicolareed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicolareed/pseuds/Nicolareed). 



> Hey, lovelies! Thank you so much to those of you who keep coming back. I've returned to my usual fluffy nonsense today because I can't help it. If you have any thoughts or critique, please feel free to let me know! I'm always looking to improve. :)  
> Enjoy!  
> 

_Takes place between Chapter 15 and Chapter 15 of Nicolareed's Not Quite Home In Darkness_

* * *

 

Luna leaned back in her bunk and sighed contentedly, allowing her book to rest in her lap for a moment while she relished the peace in the caravan.  The weariness in her limbs was the pleasant kind, a reminder of the healing she’d done earlier that day.  Noct was already snoring on the bunk above, his efforts with the Armiger exhausting him.  She could hear Prompto chatting with Cindy outside, an occasional laugh or exclamation marking the progress of the card game Prompto was predictably losing.  The caravan smelled of the soup they’d had for dinner, mingling with the fresh scent of soap and clean dishes.  Ignis hummed to himself as he finished cleaning the kitchen, occasionally exchanging a word or two with Gladio.  Luna smiled as Gladio wrapped an arm around Ignis from behind, the low rumble of his voice indecipherable from where she sat.  Ignis shooed him out of the kitchen, but he returned Gladio’s fond smile.  Luna couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so… peaceful.  How strange that she should find peace now, of all times, in the middle of the end of the world.

“Good book?” Gladio asked, leaning against the side of the bunk and bending down so he could see her.

“Yet to be determined,” said Luna thoughtfully, shuffling over and indicating that Gladio should sit.  He straightened briefly, checking on the sleeping Noct, before sitting down so he could face her.  She held up her book so he could see the title, _Love’s Injustice_.

“Oh yeah, I read that a few months ago,” he said.  “Don’t want to spoil it for you, but it’s not as good as _Love’s Courage_.”  Luna sighed.

“I suspected that would be the case.  Although _Love’s Courage_ was always going to be a difficult act to follow.”  They heard Ignis snort loudly from the kitchen and exchanged a look.  The others were woefully devoid of literary taste.  Noct and Prompto rarely picked up a book these days, and Ignis preferred the kind of abstruse literature loaded with meaningless metaphor and chapter-long descriptions of a single rain drop. Plebians, all of them.

“She tried too hard with _Injustice_ ,” said Gladio.  “All those critics of _Courage_ who said she was relying on tropes and generic traditions scared her into trying to break all the rules.”

“Trust a literary critic to ruin things,” said Luna dryly.  “They didn’t like _Courage_ because it stayed at the top of the best-seller list for more than a week.  Heaven forbid a book be popular.”

“I think perhaps the critics took more issue with the formulaic structure that is the mark of all Cassandra Heidlbrecht’s work, and the repetitive nature of her writing, than with its popularity,” opined Ignis.  Gladio and Luna both leaned out of the bunk to glare at him, but he had his back to them, wiping down the sink with an air of studied innocence.

“Cassandra’s creative use of generic convention is what makes her work so remarkable,” Luna objected.  “While the structure can never be called original, it is certainly engaging, allowing the true focus of the work to remain on characterisation.”  The cloth paused in its movement around the tap.

“Don’t you dare say it,” Gladio interjected, before Ignis could get a single word out.

“Perhaps you can enlighten me as to the ‘it’ I was about to utter,” said Ignis.  Luna could just imagine the way Ignis’s mouth would be twitching as he tried to hide his amusement.

“Just because an author likes to explore a particular range of characters, doesn’t mean they’re lazy or limited,” said Gladio firmly.  Luna shook her head.

“Don’t encourage him, Gladiolus, you know he is baiting us.”  There was the suggestion of an undignified snigger from the direction of the sink, and Gladio turned his attention firmly back to Luna.

“It’s not my fault he wouldn’t know a good character if it bit him in the ass,” he muttered.  “His idea of a good book is one without any characters at all.”

“Whereas we are students of human nature, and are thus interested in the interplay between character and setting, time and ambition.”

“Damn right,” Gladio grinned.  “Those critics think popular fiction can’t teach you anything about human nature, but they wouldn’t know human nature from a hole in the ground.  They think the only kind of writer worth their time is one who cuts themselves off from reality.  How are they supposed to know how people work like that?”

“I truly hope Cassandra will stop trying to chase so-called literary merit and return to her roots,” sighed Luna, mournfully examining the cover of _Injustice_.  She grinned up at Gladio and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.  “I don’t care if she’s the biggest hack in the universe, I just want Ulric and Renata to escape the evil dictator and snog happily ever after.”  Gladio burst into laughter.

“Don’t tell him that,” he chuckled, jerking a thumb in Ignis’s direction.  “He seems to think romance is some kind of personality flaw.”

Ignis, who had finished in the kitchen, came over and leaned on the edge of the bunk, folding his arms as he looked down at them.

“If that were true, your life would be considerably less interesting, my dear Gladio,” he observed.  Gladio grinned up at him, unabashed.

“Whatever you say, Specs.”

“It is rather too _literary_ in here for my tastes,” Ignis said, his completely deadpan face sending Luna into a silent fit of giggles.  “Do either of you require anything before I join Cindy and Prompto?”  Luna, unable to speak, shook her head.

“We’re good,” said Gladio.  “Watch out you don’t ruin Prom’s game out there,” he added with a wink.  Ignis chuckled.

“I doubt anyone could ruin it more than he already is himself,” he said.  “Good night.”  He waved to both of them and headed out of the caravan.  Gladio turned back to Luna.

“Okay, since this is your first time, how about we take turns reading it aloud,” he suggested.  He grinned.  “It might not be as good as _Courage_ , but I still loved it.”  Luna grinned and patted the space beside her.

“At least someone around here appreciates a good story,” she said.

When Ignis and Prompto came inside some hours later, they found Luna fast asleep, leaning against Gladio’s shoulder, while he read quietly to himself, the very picture of peace and contentment.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr @bluewerewolfprose, come say hi!


End file.
